Sam Cho - Church Visit #1

Church Name: St. Michaels Catholic Church
Church Address: 310 S Wheaton Ave, Wheaton, IL 60187
Date Attended: 4 April 2016

Describe the worship service you attended. How was it similar to or different from your regular context?
As I stepped into the building I was surprised at the size of the building; generally I have worshipped in very small worship centers. Another thing that surprised me was the architecture of the sanctuary for it reminded me of Hagia Sophia. Usually the non-denomination churches I have gone to have held their worship services in gymnasiums so for the room not to be a rectangle was such a new experience. However, the importance of liturgy reminded me of my time at black churches. The importance of music in the Catholic service reminded me of how the black community integrates worship into the service. Rather than the music being a section of the Catholic service it was constant singing throughout the service. This very much reminded me of the constant melodic playing of the B3 organ throughout the service and sometimes even during the sermon.

What aspects of Roman Catholic theology did you notice expressed in the service?
The liturgy that was sung across the entire service was filled with theology but two things that caught my attention was Mary's Statue that was standing to the left of the stage and the Eucharist itself. I have never been in a non-evangelical worship setting so for the first time I saw a statue of Mary during a Sunday morning service. I had many different perceptions of Catholics since I have been raised in the Bible Belt south and one of them is seeing Catholics as Mary worshippers. However, actually being a part of a Eucharist where the priest thought that this was the body and blood of Christ was a noticeable difference. In the evangelical services, the pastor or elder would always say, "Do this in remembrance of me." The bread and grace juice was always and only a symbol of Christ's body and blood.

What aspects of Scripture or theology did the worship service illuminate for you that you had not perceived as clearly in your regular context?
I never considered the importance of the Eucharist. I know that communion is celebrated every Sunday in Catholic Churches while it is only celebrated once a month in the churches I have worshipped in the past. Many times the high point of a service in evangelical churches is the sermon, but at St. Michaels it was the Eucharist. This also reflects the difference in how the evangelical church context and Catholics view salvation. The churches I grew up in viewed communion only as a symbol for Christ's body and blood because faith was in the heart and mind. It was only a way to remember what Christ's sacrifice on the cross. As long as you internalized your faith then you are saved. While St. Michaels viewed the Eucharist itself as means in which the communicant is receiving Christ himself through the bread and wine.